Get Some Tropic Thunder!

Today we feature another movie that probably most people have seen and the reaction will be "You haven't seen that?!" No, no I haven't seen Tropic Thunder before today. But now all that is remedied. For those like me who haven't however, Tropic Thunder is about the making of a war movie. Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr and several others play actors hired to make the movie "Tropic Thunder". The catch is that to get realistic action, the director has them dropped in the middle of actual enemy territory. Will they survive? Will they even realize they're really in danger? Let's just stick to the script for now, and hit the jump to find out what I thought of this crazy comedy.


First of all, I have to mention the fake movie trailers and commercials at the start of Tropic Thunder. Awesome! Not only does this serve as additional hilarity, but it gives you quick background of these fake actors and what they're known for doing in the past. Very well done and a fun extra.

I'd also like to mention how awesome the soundtrack for this movie was. It has pretty much every iconic song used in a war movie jammed into it at just the right times. It also helps I love these songs! I find that I don't normally notice scores in movies, usually my ears only pick up when songs are being played. I'm not sure why I don't really notice a scored piece of music. It generally has to be pretty over the top and right in your face for me to pay attention. That's my problem. But this movie had a bunch of great songs and I'm thankful for that.

The cast is of course great and they do what they do best. I much preferred Ben Stiller in this than I did in Night at the Museum. I much prefer his character work when it's just goofy and nuts than when he's the everyday joe. Jack Black similarly had some great scenes, especially when he was tied to a tree. Those who've seen it will know what I'm talking about. But of course the amazing Robert Downey Jr. steals the show, especially at the end when his character quickly goes through all his previous roles. Dear lord, how does he do it? And what the hell is with those eyes?! Eyes like that can't be real!

Now here's a question that popped up in my head I didn't expect to come up with. Is Tropic Thunder a better comedy than a war movie or an action movie? I would expect the answer to that for most people would be that it's a better comedy, as that's what all the hype for it is about. I constantly hear how "hilarious" it is, and how I've "got to see it because it's so funny!"

Well my answer is actually that it's a better war and action movie. Sure some of the scenes were amusing, some were even funny. But to be honest I didn't find myself laughing that much. Mostly I just found it lighthearted and I had a smile, but I don't think it was hilarious by any means. On the other hand the action and war scenes were actually really damn good! The shots of the helicopters and the war scenes were awesome!

I'd certainly be able to recommend this movie. The production values, cast, acting, and action are all top notch. As I said, I didn't think it was one of the funniest movies I've ever seen, but it was still really good. Go ahead and see this movie if you have any interest in it, you won't be disappointed.